In this December 2012 interview, MAJ Kevin Gitkos, US Army, Field Artillery (FA); discusses his deployment to Iraq as a battery commander/battalion operations officer (S3) for 4-10, 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) in 2007 through 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). MAJ Gitkos talks about preparing for his deployment to Iraq while still deployed to Afghanistan. He describes his handoff from the outgoing unit and details a typical day with meetings, patrols and debriefs. He describes the interaction with the locals as a military liaison and talks about the needs of the locals and how he helped ensure their needs were met. MAJ Gitkos describes how he was able boost morale for his Soldiers by sending them on a retreat and he closes his interview by discussing a lesson learned about time management.

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